LHC strikes down more than 1,000 Fesco appointments

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday declared more than 1,000 appointments in Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) as illegal. The appointments, in violation of rules, were allegedly made on recommendation of Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, the federal minister for water and power.

Through a short order, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah disposed of 49 identical petitions moved by Muhammad Aami, Iffat Sardar, Anwar Ali and others. The petitioners had submitted that when Fesco advertised vacancies for assistant linesman, meter reader, commercial assistant and naib qasid in November 2008, they too applied for the jobs. They said applications had been sought from residents of Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Mianwalai and Sargodha and the candidates were required to submit domicile certificates in support of their applications. They alleged that while their applications were rejected, for reasons best known to the authorities, appointments were made at recommendations of the minister.

They alleged that many of the candidates considered suitable for the posts were residents of Chakwal and Gujjar Khan, the constituency of Raja Parvaiz Ashraf, rather than the areas identified in the Fesco ad.

They alleged that the minister had accommodated his voters by appointing them and ignoring the deserving candidates. Some of the successful candidates, they alleged, did not even qualify the mandatory written tests and interviews.

During the course of the proceedings, the judge ordered the Fesco to produce the record of the examinations. However, the company failed to produce it. It failed also to give details of the examination centres.

In his short order issued on Thursday, the judge declared the appointments illegal.

Another 17 petitions challenging appointments in other categories are pending before the court. It may be recalled that on May 6, Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan had cancelled 548 appointments at the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), also made allegedly at the behest of Raja Pervez Ashraf. The judge had observed that the appointments were made in violation of rules and regulations, and directed the authorities concerned to fill the vacancies strictly on merit.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2010.